News

Streaming classes makes pupils feel dumb

DIVIDING children into classes according to their academic ability has a negative effect on students in lower streams, a new study has concluded.

The ESRI, a think tank involved in the survey, wants streaming to end in Irish secondary schools because it is unfair to brand some pupils as dunces.

But the move could be interpreted as a further dumbing down of Irish secondary education, where curriculums are now far less academic and exam papers are marked more leniently. Supporters of streaming believe that moving towards mixed-ability classes brings no academic benefits to brighter students.

Emer Smyth of the ESRI and co-author of the survey, said the findings had exposed the difficulties experienced by children in streamed classes.

“It’s not our job to judge individual school policy but there is a pattern emerging from our research that exposes student insecurities within streaming,” she said. “Schools should be encouraged to develop